Egg-shipping package



pril 9, 1929. w. s. LOWE 1,708,890

EGG SHIPPING PACKAGE Filed April 28, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l 24. 5 t 25./ l 1 4 i 7 `1u7 Z4 n l e lll M I @9 @E w :L 6" 2/ @,M@ i

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/5 /5 /7 5' /5 M5. xyz/ei ATTORNEY April 9, 1.929. w. s. LOWE EGGVSHIPPING PACKAGE Filed April 28 1927 2 SheetsfSheef:

l ATTORNEY j 4o by substanti v'Patented Apr. "9, 1929.

WILLIAM S. LOWE' 0F LAWRENCE, KANSAS.

EGG-SHIPPING PACKAGE.

Application led April 28, 1927. Serial No. 178,192.

My invention relates to egg casesv and more particularly to units comprising a box or container and the fillers or trays for safelyl packing the-eggs ins-the box.

5 '.Myppurpose is to provide a case having fillers so constructed as to receive and support safely alarger number of eggs vin .a specific cubic space', or the converse, than 1s generally Vpracticable with present facilities.

The result of such a provision would be greatly increased economy in the shipping and the storage of eggs andin the supplies necessary therefor.

The usual wooden egg casejfor shipping has two compartments, each compartment having ve layersof eggs positioned on end.

The eggs are packed in and are .held erect ,f by fillers consisting of nests o f rectangular boxes, one for each egg, formed of joined 2o slit strips. Sheets or division boards provide the floors for the egg layers, each layer containing usually three dozen eggs disposed in six rows. In unpacking a case the top of the box is removed, the top ller 1s elevated, releasing the eggs from the pockets.

in which they had been held erect. The clutch of three dozen eggs is therefore loosely-dispersed on' the division board, and gathered. The next division board is removed, and the next filler with its three dozen compartments is raised, the next layer of eggs is ready for removal. VI-t is apparent that the height of'an egg case represents thetotal le'ngth of the eggs in the layersplus the division boards and plus any packing boards above and below.

I accomplish my purpose of reducing the space required forpacking'a speciiic number of eggs b providing -a devicereducing y Aone-half the Vvertical space required for packing the prescribed number. An important feature of my device is the construction of trays to hold the eggs having depending peripheral spacingilanges and pockets to' receive the eggs, alternate ltrays in a case being', so disposed that the eggs of adjacent trays are staggered with referenceto each other. In a packed m of my dign, eggs of a superposed trayrest between the'eggs of the tray belowY and are supported in part by the resting of their ints on the body of the lower` tray. Thus dispense with the division board and provide for a total vertical space for a series l5 of layers equal to substantially haltl the total egg height of a. case. Y

My design a-nd invention are-possible for two reasons. First, because of the pointed shlprof anegg which permits the nesting that I suggest, andsecond, therequirement of individual protective housings -or pockets in a case for eggs. u'il/yL-dei-7ice will be morevspecifically de- `scIfirlefelstith.references to the drawings in which:

Fig. `1 is a perspective view of an egg case equipped with fillers of my design.V

Fig. 2 is a plan view of liller elements.

Fig. 8 is a detail fragmentary view of a 'pocket adapted to receive an egg.

Fig. 4 is a'fragmentary view of a corner of a tray shaped for positioning in a case andthe pocket element shaped as receivingV an egg.

.Figi '5 is a detail view of a pocket-of` a modified 'form' of tray, parts being broken' away to shown Aits structure.

Referring in detail to the drawings:

1 designates an egg case or container vwhich may be of any material but which is shown as of corrugated fiber board haaving top leaves 2 and the lower or bottom leaves tlhinged by iiexible means 4 as usual in thev construction of such boxes to the sides 5. The case of my preferred package'is substantially square in pross section. Openings 6 are provided in the sides for receiving the fingers of a handler.' 7 designates a tray or filler element of my design and a box or case is provided having dimensions appropriate to the particulartype of tray that it may be designed to receive as will be described, and preferably to hold a single tier or series of eggv trays.

Thetray 7 consists of a sheet of material, vpreferably a ber board, or -a paper or box board, havingY an area'in excess of the lateral dimension of the case. I may mould a tray and in that way confer its various features, but I prefer to show now the sheet mentioned.

The sheet is scored on lines suggested by the designations 8 and 9 spaced from the periphery of the sheet substantially half the long diameter of an egg whereby a depending'wing or flange such as 10 and 11 may be produced by bending the sheet on the scored lines. It is understood that there are four may be su eo 'tion of the sheet to provide portions such as' 14 and 15 constituting the supporting elements for a tray as positioned on the bottom of a casel or upon a tray below. Scorings are provided suggested by 16 whereby a supporting .member 15 is provided with an inwardly bent ear 17, the ears when effectively produced being `designed to retain a tray against slipping which might be possible rom the entering of the llange edge between the wall of the case and the edge of a. lower; tray. The ianges are further cut and portions cut out to produce the corner opening 18 and the free edges such as 19 and 20 of supporting members adjacent a corner of a tray.

The surface area ofra positioned tray is provided with a plurality of openings produced to constitute pockets-21 for eggs, and these may be of certainnumbers as desired for a particular shipping purpose. For convenience I have illustrated a tray as bein g provided with thirty-six of such pockets and will later refer to trays having a different number. The pockets 21 are constructed to admit the small ends of eggs and to retain the 'eggs half depending, spaced so that eggs `deposited therein will be slightly spaced from each other and no parts of eggs will touch. .The form of a pocket is prescribed byscoring of circular outlines indicated by 22, to assure the exact and efficient positioning of an egg in a pocket, and the area within such circular outline is slit at 23, to permit displacement of tray material by an egg introduced, and is provided with jointed or hinged lingers 24 and tabs 25 produced in the sheet by the scoring and slitting, the fingers 24 being designed of lengths slightly more than half the length of an egg so that the lower end of a finger will rest upon a lower tray and assist in supporting the portion of tray in which the pocketo the finger is produced, the two lingers o a pocket therefore serving to support the egg contained by the pocket and to provide a shield between the supported egg and the eggs of the tray below.

In the ordinary egg case package, the eggs of one layer are'vertically disposed above the eggs of the layer below .for economical packing and supply of materials. My purpose is to pack the eggs with the lower portionsof the eggs of an upper layer disposed among the upper portions of the eggs of a lower layer. I accomplish this particular object by providing a blank border 26 on two adjacent edges of a tray surface, which Y ively described as an extra spacing o approximately one and onefourth inches between a row of eggs and the 4parallel border of the tray. The blank spaces that are thus produced enable me to position a tray upon another tray in such a manner that the lower ends of the eggs of the upper tray are suspended between the upper ends of the eggs of the lower tray, the depending fingers protecting the eggs, as shown -in Fig. 1; this being practically possible by setting the superposed tray with its blank-space edges positionediover the unspaced edges of the tray below.

It may be noted in the figures that each tray fits snugly into the case and is supported by the extending peripheral {langesupon a lower .tray or the bottom of the box,

whereby any number of layers of vertically positioned eggs occupy a vertical space substantially equal to one-half the space required or the same number of eggs in ordinary packing practice and with the usual filler or pocket tray devices, thatis to say, one-half such space plus 11A inches upward projection of the top layer; and a horizontal excess of dimension represented by the blank edges 26 becomes negligible in view of the fact that it is measured against the lateral diameter of the egg.

It is obvious, therefore, that with my device a larger number of eggs may be packed in substantially the cubic space heretofore required for a selected number. l

While I have indicated trays designedfor thirty-six eggs, I suggest also that trays may be provided adapted to lit into a space constructed for the usual arrangement of eggs, in which circumstance I would provide for twenty-five eggs in each tray, the blank spaces provided for my design taking up the horizontal area of one row of eggs in a layer. Y

I point out that with my arrangement an egg case ladapted to contain thirty-dozen eggs by ordinary packing methods, may by the provision of my device be enabled to contain five hundred eggs.

In practice, however, the package containing thirty dozen eggs is the maximum for safe shipping and for convenient handling both for distribution and in storage. I' therefore contemplate the use of my device in the maximum package of thirty dozen, which would represent the same vertical measure as for an ordinary thirty dozen case but substantially one-half the horizontal measure. The saving of storage space is obvious as well as the increased safety of handling because of the smaller and more compact package and the opportunity to provide containers of materials that may the more positively protect the eggs.

It is'in connection with the storage particularly that I wish to call attention to the container or case features of my invention, indicating the manner in which the container and the fillers or Atrays eo-operate to produce the desired and improved shipping` anghpackng unit I ph'er.

- eopenlngsw c or pplng urpose provide the finger holds for lifting e case,

i constitute ventilatingapertures for a filled case put into storage. In case I wish to produce my container of liber board,` pul board or corrugated straw board materia, the walls and connectedY edges of the container will be substantially air and gas tight as well as protective against damage from contact, and the Ventilating apertures will therefore be useful in the provision of circulating air to the interior ofthe cases in storage. IY point out particularly that the Ventilating provision of my case and its type of tray is important and is especially considered in view of the comparative sealing of eggs inthe ordinary type of filler and case. The box-like -pockets of ordinary fillers and the division boards that `support the fillers constitute substantially air tight Walls to seal eggs against ventilation while in storage. The result is deprivation of refrigeration, as well as the withholding of aeration. Air, however, may circulate freely between the two adjacent parallel walls of plane surfaces of my tray, and. air may circulate'among the trays through the apertures produced by the provision of slitted supports and inturned ears of my downturned flanges. Air, therefore, is admitted through the. linger hole apertures and circulates throughoutthe case, having egress as well as ingress, and is suiiiciently baed so that it does not keep and maintain a single narrow course through a case. I point out this result of provision for adequate and desirable ventilation as attained by the Vstructure that I have described whereby my arrangement for the economical use of space and also for the adequate protection of the eggs against damage is attained.

I wish to point out also that my structure further provides for the unpacking of a case with convenience and expedition. It is to be noted that my arrangement provides for installing the e gs into pockets supporting them through t e top of a case. I may `install upon the topmost layer an inverted tray the pockets of which may be provided with a protective lining, to brace the top layer of eggs and also to constitute an inverted pocket tray. IlVhen the case is to be unpacked, a tray may be inverted and the bottom may be opened, exposing the bottom of a tray, that is, the under surface of the packed tray. This tray may` be removed, being lifted easily from the pointed ends of the eggs that have been inserted into it, and the eggs vwill then be loosely disposed in a clutch so that they may be gatheredv by hand. The-next tray may be then removed.. in like manner, so that the unpacking 'of .a case of eggs equipped with my trays is effected in lmuch the same manner' as in the circumstance of a case equipped with the ordinary ller.

. may be a Waterproof fabric and chip board may be used as an inter-liner, and various other features may be easily applied on the basis of my invention as Comprising a liber or like box and the trays with their pockets.

lvVhile I have described the egg trays of my device as constructed of board scored to produce flanges and fingers, and have referred to fibre containers, I wish it understood that Wooden boxes, pressedor moulded trays, and similar changed details and processes may be used without departing from the spirit of my invention. I may provide fillers of any material, size and proportions to be used in cases of one or another kind, the fillers adapted to pack the eggs in such a Way that substantially half the length of the eggs, on one tray depends amoner the upper halves of eggs of a lower tray. fthen may further provide that the depending portions-of eggs may be partly supported and protected by means preferably integral with the trays. This I accomplish through my Wider margins of adjacent edges of trays.

' What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A tray for packages of the character. 'i

described comprising a ,body portion havingv to provide legs having horizontal upper edges of appreciable length for engagmg the body portion to support the same. ,A 2. A package of the character described comprising a container, 'and a plurality of trays in the container, each tray com rising sheet having downturned edge anges,

forming rails for supporting one sheet upon another, said flanges being slit and scored transversely intermediately of their ends and portions between adjacent slits and scorings `being slit from the sheets for turning beneath the sheets to form stabilizing legshaving straight upper edges .of appreciable length for supporting portions of the sheet adjacent the flanged edges thereof.

3. A tray for packages of the character described comprising a^ sheet having scores to provide edge rails,- the sheet having corner openings and the ends of the rails beingl reduced toproduce free corner-supporting portions, the rails having transverse slits and scorings intersecting the rail scores at appreciably spaced points for providing straight top edges for rail portions between related slits and scorings, said ortions being severed from the sheet on t e edge rail Scores for inbending to engage the under surface of the sheet to support the same. l 4. A tray for packages ofthe character described, comprising a body portion having depending edge rails and circular scores demng article-receiving pockets, the mate. rial within the pocket areas having slits on chords of the scored area, the portions between adg'facent slits having transverse divisions o set from the center of the area whereby divided portions are constituted,

wings having differential length, the pocketsland adapting t em for sup orting the tray.

In' testimony whereof I a my signature.

WILLIAM' S. LOWE. 

